In this 'verse, the problem isn't that There Are No Therapists—the characters have just decided they're too cool for therapy. The concept of counseling, therapy, or treatment is discussed or brought up, but it's rejected.

The characters may feel this way originally, but usually slowly realize the value of therapy and come around. If they don't accept therapy, this will probably lead to a Warped Aesop. If they do, this will likely lead to Epiphany Therapy, and further visits are never brought up again. Another very common variation features the characters claiming this, not knowing that they're one Gilligan Cut away from bawling their eyes out on a couch. If it's a Police Procedural or military drama and the protagonist is required to see a psychologist before being returned to "active duty," then they'll demand that the psychologist just "sign the damn paper already."

In major examples, characters might actually say this trope word for word, and reject the idea of counseling despite intense psychological issues or self destruction. In minor examples, the characters will probably just insist that they can handle their problems, a therapist couldn't help with their super special problems, or that they're just too busy.

X-Factor: Doc Samson is a psychologist, and the team members pretty much sneer at seeing him ... but they eventually come around.

In 52, Alan Scott refuses counseling after his daughter Jade's death and the Zeta Beam incident, because he thinks he must appear stronger than that for other heroes who have suffered during the same events.

This legendarily subtext-ridden comic has Batman telling Superman that using each other for therapy sure beats going to a clock-watching psychiatrist.

In Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog'' comic, Sonic watches as Robotnik's psychosis takes hold of him, to the point that he must be put in a straitjacket. Sonic seems deeply troubled by this. He tries talking to Sally about it, but she tells him the equivalent of "Suck it up and quit being such a drag; you're harshing our mellow."

Fred Perry's Gold Digger has therapists, or more technically, 'balance councilors,' for helping mages and other magical beings with their problems. The Queen of Dragons T'mat, however, will have no part of them, not even for centuries after the most traumatic experience of her life (that, among other things, caused her to lose a hand, and this is among the least of the scars it left). Eventually her daughter has to go to significant lengths to get help, and deposing her is discussed.

In Analyze This, mob boss Paul Vitti thinks that therapy is for pussies and homosexuals, but due to extenuating circumstances he goes to see a therapist. He has this exchange with his therapist, Ben.

Paul: "If I talk to you and you turn me into a fag, I'm gonna kill ya, you understand?"

Ben: "Can we define 'fag'? Because some feelings may come up—"

Paul: "I go fag, you die. Got it?"

Ben: "Got it."

Will from Good Will Hunting is forced to see a therapist as part of a deal allowing him to forgo jail time for an assault. A troubled genius, Will treats the first few therapists he meets with contempt, but eventually begins to open up once Sean Maguire pushes back against his attitude.

In The Elite Squad Nascimento is sent to see a psychiatrist, but he can't or won't open up to her about his problems. Admittedly, she failed to recognise when he tried to use I Have This Friend.

Black Dagger Brotherhood: At first Zsadist steadfastly refuses to talk about his abuse, owing at least partly to the shame and unresolved guilt and horror, but not long before his daughter is born he begins talking privately to Mary—a trained therapist—and seems to be benefiting greatly from their sessions.

In the Stephen King short story The Boogeyman (something of a spiritual predecessor to IT), the principal character is indeed seeing a therapist. And yet, he insists that he doesn't actually need therapy and sneers disdainfully at what he imagines the doctor's other patients are like (gays, crossdressers, and people who "strut around thinking they're Napoleon").

Kestra'chern in The Black Gryphon counsel armies who are in a war that has been raging for over a generation. Unfortunately many people in said armies consider them to be nothing more than very pricy prostitutes - in fairness, they do some of that too, as part of helping people feel that there is more to their lives than endless fighting.

Chief counselor Amberdrake, who is becoming increasingly messed up as a result of losing his family and more and more friends to the war, states in the narration that he can't go talk to another kestra'chern about it, because he's their leader, and they'd be demoralized. Some of his patients-turned-friends end up being the ones to console him when he breaks down.

On Becker, the title character feels this way, and only speaks in his mandatory therapy session after being told that he's "almost" broken the record for prolonged silence.

On How I Met Your Mother, Barney refuses to go to therapy and instead sneaks into Lilly's kindergarten class to participate in "Feelings Hour".

NUMB3RS: Don wants to the therapist to just sign the paper and get on with it. He has no interest in actually engaging. Eventually, the shrink brings him around.

Bones: Similar to the above example. The macho man Booth decides that Gordon Gordon Wyatt should just get him back on active duty and Sweets should just leave him alone. They both bring him around.

NCIS: Also similar to the NUMB3RS example. The team finally gets some long overdue therapy. It . . . seems to help. A little.

The Mentalist: It is implied that Patrick Jane believes that from the pilot. However, it later transpires that he actually saw one for a lengthy period after shutting down once he came across the corpses of his family, and benefitted from it.

Perception: Kate claims this. Bonus points for reciting the "just sign the damn papers so I can get better at work" line.

I believe that when you have a problem you talk it over with your priest, or your tailor, or the mute elevator porter at your men's club. Then you take that problem and you crush it with your mind-vise. But for lesser beings, like curly-haired men, or people who need glasses, therapy can help.

On Psych, Lassiter has to grit out the word therapist. Shawn also cracks a joke about how he's proud never to have seen a therapist.

Gilmore Girls features the mild humourous version. Lorelai/Rory have both dismissed therapy as unnecessary, only to end up talking for hours or bursting into to tears and spilling their guts, respectively.

JAG: Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie is ordered to see a psychiatrist in season 9, and remains reluctant until the next season.

Lydecker is once shown attending an AA meeting in Dark Angel. He apparently does that solely to tell everyone that he recovered from his alcoholism by simply taking a good hard look at himself and deciding that he has to change, and everyone who needs to go to AA and take things one step at a time and so on are weaklings.

Played with on ER; the doctors and nurses work closely with the staff of the hospital's psych unit, but most of them seem to view psychiatric intervention as something that other people need, not they themselves. Of all the main characters, many of whom at some point in the show's run suffer traumas that are shown to have destructive effects on their lives, only a handful ever enter therapy, and most of them drag their feet about it and only go because a concerned third party coaxed them into it. That said, therapy and counseling services are generally portrayed as a good and necessary resource, and the psych staff are genuinely interested in their clients' well-being.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: In "The Sound of Her Voice", Miles O'Brien was speaking to a starship captain about a range of subjects, and when he got to the area of ships counselors explained that he did not see a need for them. She agreed, and they spoke about how you can deal with these issues by talking to friends and loved ones....except for the things that you cannot talk to your friends and loved ones about, and Miles laughed as he realized that he had been lead back to saying that the only people you can talk about these things with is a ships counselor. This is apparently a recurring theme in Miles' life, as when a ship's counselor joined the cast in season 7, Miles O'Brien stated his distaste for the profession to Julian Bashir. Their conversation started as a Therapy Is For The Weak discussion, but eventually implied that Miles had nothing against therapy, he just felt it should be done naturally and with loved ones, and not a disconnected professional. In other words, he hates therapists, but not therapy.

One of the recurring discussed themes of The Sopranos. Tony considers that therapy is for the meek and has to keep his a secret, because if a guy in his line of work is known to be talkative, he may very well end up dead.

Tony: Let me tell ya something. Nowadays, everybody's gotta go to shrinks, and counselors, and go on "Sally Jessy Raphael" and talk about their problems. What happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent type. That was an American. He wasn't in touch with his feelings. He just did what he had to do. See, what they didn't know was once they got Gary Cooper in touch with his feelings that they wouldn't be able to shut him up! And then it's dysfunction this, and dysfunction that, and dysfunction vaffancul!

Tabletop Games

Chaos influence Warhammer 40,000 causes a lot of people to go crazy... which is considered a sign of weakness so no one generally cares enough to do anything about it save for shooting them when they snap.

Video Games

In Fallout: New Vegas, Corporal Betsy, one of a group of snipers, got caught and raped by a raider, and after escaping she went back to work like nothing happened. She didn't want to show any weakness to her battle buddies, so she didn't seek therapy, but convincing her that she does indeed need to seek therapy is one of the side-missions in the game.

Visual Novels

Fuminori believes this in Saya no Uta. He lies to his doctor and pretends his condition doesn't exist because he's afraid of being institutionalised, instead relying on his doting girlfriend for support. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't end well.

Commander:[crying] I-I think I'm gonna need to talk t' a professional about this. Admiral: Why are you crying, you pansy? You're supposed to be a brooding anti-hero! Like Batman! Why aren't you Batman? Commander: I'M GETTING A LAWYER! Admiral: God damnit that's even lamer than a therapist!

In S.S.D.D Tessa refuses to see anyone about the rat with glowing eyes that only she can see or hear, after one incident where she zones out and sees horrific images that make her visibly freak out her boyfriend, Julian, makes her see a doctor. Grudgingly she visits the researcher who designed her implants and he suggests that her ocular implants are miscalibrated, after they're re-aligned she mentions the "hallucinations" to Julian who berates her for not mentioning that sooner. She reminds him that he once attempted to kill himself and asks if he sought any professional help before that. Granted Tessa's visions are actually due to a sadistic AI hacking her implants.

Western Animation

In an episode of King of the Hill, Bill tries to kill himself. Peggy suggests sending him to a therapist, but Hank only responds "He's not crazy, he's just suicidal".

It seems like Mr. Pataki thinks like this in "Helga On the Couch". Since he's a proud man, it's no surprise that he would think this.

Real Life

General Patton publicly called PTSD sufferers "weaklings." It was a . . . differentera.

Even at the time, he got called out on this when he beat up a soldier for perceived weakness when the latter had just returned from combat and had severe stress. It led to a rather large public outcry against him though the soldier himself played it down and Patton apologized later.

Since World War One it has been commonplace to treat combat troops with PTSD and shellshock, even TBI, by offering brief, focal counseling and then sending the men back to the front as quickly as possible.

Even now, the military has a rather...interesting relationship with therapy. On the one hand, modern armies are much better at screening out the mentally unfit and helping soldiers who've been through traumatic experiences. On the other hand, there's still a prevailing attitude of hostility towards the mental health profession, especially among the combat arms troops. The fact that visiting a shrink or taking anti-depressants is a good way to get one's security clearance called into question — not to mention being accused of gayness by one's fellow troops — doesn't help matters.

Legendary aversion: Audie Murphy became a public speaker to raise awareness of PTSD after his battle with it, at a time up when "man up" was the usual reaction to such problems.

This is a common attitude for people living in Asia, where those who seek professional psychological treatment are perceived as weak and thusly stigmatized.

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